3/15/11

Easy Peasy Kid-Friendly Marbling

One of my favorite things to do with little berry is get creative. From day-to-day this takes on different meanings, but today it was a simple water and coconut oil marbling craft.
I've done this before with baby oil but I don't own that anymore so coconut oil is what I used. You will need:
Paint (we used watercolors, which were very light and food coloring which gave darker colors but less variations)


*Oil (again, we used coconut oil which I melted to a liquid)
*a pan you don't mind getting oily (filled a third full of cool water)
*Paper scraps or pretty paper for making cards and tags
*a place to put your finished papers on to dry
*and of course, an energetic and joyful toddler.

To make pretty paper like ours, fill your pan a third full of cool water. Add a few drops of your oil and allow it to spread out and ball up across the water.


Then add about a teaspoon of different paints and shake the pan slightly so the oil separates and begins to roll through the paint across the pan.


Next, dip a piece of paper in the mixture and let it settle beneath the oil so the paint sticks around the spaces where the oil didn't hit, like this:



Then, lift, allow to drip a little, and place on a plate to dry.



VĂ³ila! You've made marbled paper.



Enjoy, and please make sure your whirlychild is wearing art project friendly clothes :)

18 comments:

  1. What a cute, eco-friendly project. Wish I would have done something like this with my kids.

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  2. This looks really fun....and messy...but fun! ;)

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  3. I love this idea and love how they dry afterwards. Great for gift wrapping!!

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  4. Oooh, I love this, and think my daughter would to. We even have everything on hand to do it! :)

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  5. Just getting crafty with my 2 year old. Would love to try this!

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  6. I have some canola oil I really want to get rid of. I think this might be the perfect project. Great post, thanks!

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  7. yet another great use for coconut oil!

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  8. I think my two boys are still a little too young, but I might give it a shot ;)

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  9. Oooh, perfect craft for Thanksgiving break

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  10. I think even my girls as teenagers would enjoy making their own stationary with this.

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  11. I think my girls as teenagers would love this project for making their own stationary!

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  12. There is a Turkish painting style similar to this, but I don't remember what its called. It is SO beautiful, though!

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  13. oooh, what a fun one. I'm always looking for new ideas. By the way... I love you header design and site. Glad to have found you, through NPN holiday giveaway.

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  14. This looks great, bookmarked!!

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  15. Ooh! That is so cool! I might have to give this a try with my girlies.

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  16. Great idea! Nice blog you have here too, I wandered around a bit ;)

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Spill it!